Navy tries new tactics on sex assault

Alcohol sales limited, court-martial results posted, more cops hired

(June 4, 2013) Military service chiefs testify about sexual assault in the military before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Capitol. From Left, Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr.; Maj. Gen. Vaughn A. Ary, Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps; Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos; Army Lt. Gen. Dana Chipman, The Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army; U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey: Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brig. Gen. Richard Gross, Chief of Naval Operations Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert; Vice Adm. Nanette DeRenzi, judge advocate general of the Navy; Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, Air Force judge advocate general. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade

(June 4, 2013) Military service chiefs testify about sexual assault in the military before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Capitol. From Left, Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr.; Maj. Gen. Vaughn A. Ary, Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps; Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos; Army Lt. Gen. Dana Chipman, The Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army; U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey: Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brig. Gen. Richard Gross, Chief of Naval Operations Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert; Vice Adm. Nanette DeRenzi, judge advocate general of the Navy; Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, Air Force judge advocate general. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade

On the investigation end, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the allocation of $10 million to hire more than 50 extra Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents to shorten investigation times.

Of those, 34 will be field agents who are experts in sex crimes.

Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty said this move follows a pilot program in Norfolk, Va. There, an NCIS sex crimes team was able to reduce the average wait time between report and case conclusion from 300 days to 80 or 90.

More than half of sexual assaults in the Navy involve drinking. To address that, Navy brass is making access to alcohol more difficult in several ways.

Hard liquor will only be available in large base stores, called exchanges, and no longer in mini marts. Booze can only be sold between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and only in the back 10 percent of the store. Stores will also be required to sell disposal breathalyzer units.

One official familiar with current alcohol sale policy said many Navy stores already follow most of those guidelines. Now, however, the policy is in writing.

Some of the other programs announced Thursday are a continuation of a pilot program launched in San Diego. They include a so-called shore patrol of senior enlisted sailors who walk base barracks at night looking for potential problems.

Reports of sexual assault skyrocketed 32 percent in the Navy last year, with 726 cases compared with 550 the prior year, according to a Pentagon report released in May.

In total for the U.S. military, reports involving active-duty personnel rose about 6 percent, from 3,192 in fiscal 2011 to 3,374 in 2012.

Navy officials said they believe some of their increase was sailors coming forward with older cases, as the military’s attitude toward sexual assault has become more sympathetic to victims — who are usually females in their 20s.